Over the next financial year (2019/20), the Urban Management Directorate will invest R10 million in the development and formalisation of informal trading.
The Urban Management Directorate hosted an informal traders’ stakeholder engagement session recently to address local traders issues, and inform traders of the upcoming by-law and policy review. In addition, informal traders were assisted with understanding the concept of the Business Precinct Management programme, which aims to improve the management of selected pilot sites throughout the metropolitan area, and to understand their role within this programme.
‘The engagement sessions not only affirms the City of Cape Town’s commitment to drive area economic development but also creates the space for local entrepreneurs to succeed in our opportunity city. It gave me an opportunity to interact with and hear the voices of the traders prior to the upcoming Informal Economy Summit that will be used as a platform for inputs on the existing policy and by-law,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.
This was the first of three sessions with players in the informal economy with the two other sessions focusing on micro enterprises and the youth. These sessions will be used to better understand informal trading in order to take the city’s basket of services to the traders, and to proactively support informal traders to become effective participants in our local economy.
Alderman Grant Twigg said, ‘The Urban Management Directorate will be engaging with informal traders across the City of Cape Town to comprehensively empower, support and assist local entrepreneurs in their business development.’
The City is committed to building an opportunity and inclusive city for all residents. The success of informal traders is of paramount importance to local economic development in our city. It is a valuable source of income to most the vulnerable household
Together we can make progress possible.